.W72 
Copy 1 






STEAM PLOWING-. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE OPERATIONS 



WILLIAMSON 



;\oad Meamer and ^team ; Jlow, 



Seed Farm of Messrs. Dayid Laiidretli & Son 



Bloomsdale, Near Bristol, Pa. 



ID _ 3D . AA7" I L XjI ^^ im: s o jsr 



^No. 3S2 Bi'oaclway. 



Meto Dork : 

3IcDoNAj,D Bros, et Dili.oxt, Printei'.s and Stationers 
No. .5 Park Place. 

is::i 



STEAM PLOWING. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE OPERATIONS 



'^/^, WILLIAMSON 



oad ^teamer and ^team : 



]low, 



M Farm of Messrs. Dayi^ Landretli & Son, 



Bloomsdale, near Bristol. Pa . , 



KTC, KTC, KTO. 



This Steamer and Plow has received the first prize, cousihtiiig of Gt)ld Medaln or Diplo- 
mas, at every Fair at whieh it has been exliibited. 



ID- ID. 'WXlL.X^XJ^l^/LSOlSr^ 
A^<.>. 3 a Broadway, 



ieb lorfj. 



No. ^^^2 'Broadway, 

New Yokk, December, 1872. 

rn HE principal object of tliis Paiuplilet is to present to those 
I wlio are interested in the subject of Steam Cultivation, the 

opinions of a number of gentlemen well known as advanced 
agriculturists, who, having no interest whatever in tlie system 
employed, have printed simply what they saw, and the con- 
clusions they formed after witnessing the operation of a Wil- 
liamson Steam Plow at Bloomsdale. In the following pages 
will be found all that has l)een printed on these trials, whether 
favorable or otherwise. The opinion of a gentleman so widely 
and favorably known as David Landreth, Esq., formed after 
actually riding npon the Steam Plow day after day as it crossed 
liis beautiful lields, and watching the thoroughness and celerity 
with which it worked, is alone of immense value to those who 
have been anxiously waiting for a Steam Plow adapted to 
American iields. 

Another object in collecting and publishing these articles, 
is to distinctly connect the name of Landreth v/itli the earliest 
practical working of Direct Traction Steam Plows in thiscoun- 
tr}', as well as to perpetuate the remembranceof a most enjoy- 
able day, when a gathering of notable men came to examine 
critically the Steam Plow, and to enjoy the bountifid hospital- 
ity of Bloomsdale. 

That the English system of Rope Traction is considered as 
not adapted to this countr}^ is amply proved by the fact that 
the import duty on these Plows has been removed, and for the 
past two years they could be landed here at an advance of 
only about .s250 to $300 on their cost in England, and yet none 
have been imported. Their best results have been published, 
and are well understood by our intelligent Farmers, but the 
conviction has ever been strong that the American Steam Plow 
must consist of a light, powerful steamer, drawing a gang of 
easily managed Plows behind it. Thanks to Mr. Thomson, of 
Scotland, his rubber-tired Road Steamer has given the cue from 
which, after successive improvements and radical alterations, 



the Williamson Road Steamer has been perfected, and this 
motor, witli tlje AVilliamson Ga.ng Plow behind it, has now 
proved itself capable of plowing, with reasonable economy, all 
land in fair (condition, which is adapted to Steam Cultivation. 

The failures in plowing by direct traction in England liavc 
simply proved that their heavy rigid-tired Tractioii Engin(\'^ 
and cnmbersome Plows were entii<>ly unsiiited to the work. 
As well n)ight an attempt be made to navigate our shallow 
rivers with tlieir magnilicent ocean steamers. 

Nor are the Williamson Engines to be confounded with the 
Road Steamers built by the Licens(^es of Mr. Thomson, in Great 
Britain (of which about 150 have been constructed), as they are 
radically different in many points which are vital in Steam 
Plowing, and which are the result of much actual experience 
in the field. 

In addition to the accounts of tlu^ Bloomsdalc trials, tlu>re 
are added a few extracts from dilfcM-ent uewspap(3rs, showing 
what the Williamson Steamers and Plows have been doing in. 
othei- parts of the country. 

Believing that the Steam Plow is to play an impoitantpart 
in the development of our country, tlu; publishing of this 
Pamphl(;t may prove a not unimpoi-tiiut contribution to its 

I). D. Williamson. 



PLO^VING^ BY STEAM. 



To the Eonon ^' PiiiLADELPiirA Pukss :" 

The numerous inquiries addi'essed us in respect to steam 
plowing by direct traction, as opposed to the more cumbrous 
and costly 'Slouble engine and rope system," inducers us to 
request space for a few remarks, which may interest j)arties 
Avho desire information as to our experiments at Bloomsdalc. 

Tlu^ engine used by us mainly, is the three- wheeled, 
rubber-tired, of Thomson, of Scotland, improved greatly by 
Willlamsorj, of ]^f^ew York, the Amiiiican patentee, and sole 
builder in this country : one with four wlieels, the drivers 
being fitted with rubber tire, (also by the same party) lias 
been ex])eri7nented with, but the iirst named excited most 



interest, and 2'>robab]y will be generally pi-eferred ; though 
■the latter has some good points which are not to be over- 
looked. 

In this communication, we shall confine ourselves, however, 
to the three-wheeled engine, the special advantages of which 
are fully set forth in various publications on the subject 
to whicli the reader is referred. 

Our experiments were commenced in August, of the present 
year, under the direction of an aid of Mr. \Villiamson, who 
though not a professional engineer, was quite an ex])ert in 
mechanics ; he ])r()ved to be ever ready to acknowledge minor 
defects as they were exhibited from time to time, and prompt 
in a desire to amend them. 

At first some difficulty ^vas found in steering the engine, so 
5is to have each furrow-swarth regularly and uniformly lap the 
preceding, but a little practice overcame the inclination to 
vary from the in'o^x^r line. The Williamson Plow is a gang of 
five or six plows (five being principally used), of steel, and 
are affixed to an oblique rigid l)eam, so inclined as to cause 
each furrow slice to fall into its proper place, and with levers 
so adjusted as to run the plows to the desired depth, say eight 
inches, as in our trials, though a shallower or deeper depth 
may be adopted at pleasure. Each plow turns a slice of 
fourteen inches, and when five only are used, the breadth 
simultaneously turned is nearly six feet. The speed usually 
exceeds that of mules or horses when engaged in plowing, 
and we have, without difficulty, accomplished an acre an hour. 
With greater experience and proper facilities for suj^plying 
fuel and water, there is little room to doubt eight acres a day, 
with full allowance for detentions and stoppages, may be set 
down as an average result. Indeed, we hope, with increased 
practice, and the more thorough removal of obstructions, to 
exceed that area. 

It is not, however, from the plows that we look for the 
most important results, but from an implement, termed by the 
English a "bi-eaker,'' which is simply a series of iron coul- 
ters or sub-soilers, so arranged on a frame as to cover a 
breadth of inne fei^t, Avhich, as it offers less resistance than 
plows, moves Avith greater facility, and prepares many 
acres a day. This breaker is designed at one operation, to 
disintegrate and pulverize the surface soil, and also disturb 
the hard pan below — it may be months after it has been 
plowed — and with a harrow attachment used simultaneously, 



leave tlie surface smooth and ready for seeding. Practical 
men can at once perceive the advantage of this process. 

In our own culture, with five hundred or more acres to pre- 
pare for seeding, if possible betwixt the opening of spring and 
lirst of May ensuing, it may be difficidt to estimate its value, 
especially as we propose to execute the plowing in autumn, 
and earl}^ winter — only using tlie breaker and harrow in 
spring to lighten up and further disintegrate the soil. Such, 
it is certain, ma}" be a profitable practice in the preparation of 
oat and corn lands, and also empliatically so with the exhaust- 
ed cotton lands of the South, allowing the plant as it were, to 
revel in fresh pastures ; and with an imperfect Icnowledge of 
rice culture, ol)tained by casual observation, we do not hesitate 
to say, the Williamson Traction Engine and Bi'eaker is des- 
tined to recover our almost abandoned interest in that crop. 
Not only will cropping be thus fa(;ilitated, but if the experi- 
ence of our Englisli brethren be conlirmed here, of wliich 
there can be no doubt, enlarged products will attend the more 
thorougli tillage which steam power ma}'^ enable us to practice. 

We do not ])ur])ose, on this occasion, to enter into details 
as to the relative cost of musc/ular, animal, and st(^am plow- 
ing, but we may say, that if with steam eight aci-es a day can 
be counted on as an average day's })lowing, and twice that 
number with the bi'eaker, there iivahI be no question as to its 
economy on large plantations ; nobody, it is presumed, imag- 
ines steam is adapted to the tillage." of small farms, except 
through a system of co-operation among farmers. 

It is hardly necessary to say that, in addition to plowing, 
the Williamson Steamer will be of great service in hauling 
farm produce and manure, threshing grain, sawing wood, 
gi'inding fertilizers, and in many similar employments, which 
the progressive farmer must adopt in self defence. 

David Landketii & Son. 

Bloomsdale, near Phihidelphia, December, 1873. 



Having been fortunate enough to receive an invitation 
from the Messrs. Landreth to be one of a company of agricul- 
turists called together at Bloomsdale, on the 8th of ISovem- 
ber, to witness the working of the Williamson Road and 
Field Engine, I am induced to make certain notes of that 



remarkable exhibition of a new application of steam, and 
the reflections incited thereby. 

The engin(^ in question, is one made on a plan originally 
designed by Mr. Thomson, a Scottish civil engineer, but built 
andlmproved by D. D. Williamson, Esq., of 32 Broadway, 
New York, the American patentee and sole manufacturer in 
the United States. The complete engine weighs between six 
and seven tons when ready for work, and is capable of exert- 
ing a force of eighteen or twenty horse power. It is supported 
upon two large driving wheels, and upon a third and smaller 
wheel in front, used for steering. The total length of the en- 
gine^is thirteen feet, and width under seven feet. The boiler 
i^3 made of steel, and is an upright tubular, thirty-four inches 
in diameter, fixed between the driving wheels, which are five 
fe*4. in diameter, and fourteen inches broad. In front of the 
boiler are two cylinders, six by ten inches, other machinery 
and steering gear," all in charge, and immediately under the eye 
of the engineer. Back of the boiler are the coal boxes, fur- 
nace, and ]ilatform for fireman, who is charged Avith the care 
of the plow or Avagon train. The construction of the various 
parts of the engine is, although very perfect, not particular^-; 
remarkable, the novelty of the machine being in the number 
and arrangement of its wheels, and in their construction, which 
enables it'^to be tui-ned in less space than that required for a 
carriage, and distributes its weight u]ion the ground over a 
broad surface. 

The wheels of all successful self-propelling engines were, 
before the introduction of the Thomson wheel, and (excepting 
the one in question^ are yet made with rigid iron tire, which 
n<:'cessitates the appli<'ation of diggers upon the peripherv, to 
give them sufficient grip on the ground to prevent slipping— 
These "diggers," although not so objectionable on the farm, are 
decidedly so on hard roads, as the Avorks are injured hy the (^.on- 
tinual jar, the machine walking, as it Avere, on stilts ; and the 
road if good, is seriously cut up. (The Williamson Avheel has 
also provision for "diggers," but they are seldom required.) 
But the ap])lication by Mr. Thomson of a rubber tire four 
and a half inches thick, and tAvelve inches broad, not only 
overcomes this difficulty through its elasticity, bnt, by the 
weight of the engine, the rubber is flattened out as the Avlieels 
revolve, thus increasing the bearing surface upon the ground 
from less than one hundred square inches (as it would be with an 
inflexible tire), to six hundred square inches with the rubb^^r. 



6 

It is in this increase of bearing-surface where the rubber- 
tired engine has its advantage over all others, and the ad van - 
taige is two-fold — first, giving the machine such a tenacious 
grip upon the ground that it is ])ropelled forward under 
circumstances when the wheels of an engine of smooth, rigid 
tires, would revolve without effect ; and secondly, in distrib- 
uting the weight to such an extent that the pressure per 
square inch is not greater than that of a horse's foot, as can 
readily be perceived by examining soft land over whicli it iias 
passed. 

These rubber tires are of vulcanized material, exi)ressly 
prepared for this purpose, and have been thoroughly tested in 
Scotland, where numbers of engines are in use, the tires of 
which remain in a good state of preservation, after having pas- 
sed over many thousands of miles. 

The better way, however, to desmil^e its wonderfid capac- 
ity, is to state what we saw it do at Bloonisdah^, tlie noted 
seed-farm of Messrs. 1). Landretli & Son, near Pliiladelphia, 
(an estate of six hundred aci-es, as level as a pralri(\ and witJi- 
oiit an obstructing fence, ditcli or tree ; thus admirably adapt- 
ing it to the use of just such a machine as wt; theie saw in 
operation.) 

The company there assembled, although tliey had all seen 
other traction and plowing engines at home ai d abroad, wen^ 
amazed at the performn nces of tliis little steamer, and freely 
gave way to exclamations of delight as one after another of its 
powei's were exhibited. 

It hrst ran at a rate of eight or nine miles an hour, up and 
down a long wagon road, and then into a court-yard where it 
almost as readil}'' pirouetted round and round, backward and 
forward, as freely as coidd an expei'ienced i)e]-foriner on a 
velocipede. Then up and down, forward and ba(;kward, start- 
ing and stopping on a long embanknuMit, leading to thci upj)er 
floors of an elevated stone barn, and on whicli the grade was 
about one in five. 

Then it was attached to two fai'm wagons, which, when 
filled with about thirty persons, it drew at a rate of six miles 
an hour, a distance of two miles, around a portion of the 
e^state, over a stony turnpike, a sandy road, a (;lay head-land, 
twice up and over a railroad, up and down various grades, 
and through mud and mire, the rain having fallen in 
torrents the day before, rendering these tests all the nior;' 
difficult. 



Next it connected witli a gang of plows, and drawing them 
to tlie field, entered upon its severest trial, but without liesi- 
tation. 

The order was given to go forward, when away it went, 
tiu-ning with live large, steel plows, running seven inches 
deep, a swarth of six^ feet in breadth, of very stiff blue-grass 
sod, the growth of many years. Puff, puff, puff, went the 
«'ngine, and if the company had followed it around the held 
as rapidly as it moved, they would have puffed as well, for it 
delayed not, but turning out as it successively arrived at the 
ends of the field, re-entered without stopping, and in less time 
than a minute, and so on continuously, until the company 
were fully assured of its almost fabulous power and capacity. 
We were told by Mr, Landretli, that it had repeatedly and 
consecutively turned with the plows, out and in at headlands, 
in thirty seconds, the widtJi of headlands being twenty-foui- 
feet. 

The practice at Bloomsdale, when preparing a field for 
steam plowing, is to mark out a headland eight yards in width 
at each end, and a strip of the same width on each side, and 
when the field is finished to plow around the belt, thus break- 
ing up the entire area without difficulty. 

Upon this occasion the plows reversed j'z^'e liiindred cuhic 
IricJies of soil for every inch of forward movement, but we were 
told that the engine had drawn the plows quite readily when 
running twelve inches deep, theni^'Yeviimg ei(/7d ku?idred a/nd 
sixty cuhic inches for every inch of forward movement, al- 
though the difficulties of plowing increase in a greater ratio 
with an increase of de])th than with an increase of width, which 
fact is not generally considered when making com23arisons in 
plowing. 

From my observations of the da}', which were thorough 
and decisive, I conclude that the Williamson Steamer, as a 
roadster, is so rapid in its movements, so powerful in direct 
traction, so well adapted to driving machinery by means of 
belting, and in all situations so easily handled and so unlike- 
ly, fitted as it is with an improved spftrk-arrester, to fire build- 
ings, even when placed immediately alongside of them, that it 
may be safely said there is scar(;ely a limit to its use. 

On the farm to plow, to haul manure, to thrash, to saw 
wood, to grind corn, cut fodder and hay, and steam the mix- 
ture for stock-feeding, and perhaps, before long, to propel a 
mower and reaper over fifty acres a day. 



In tlie stone quarry to lift and move ponderous blocks. 

In tlie sliip-yard to transport and raise mighty timbers. 

On the canal to liaul boats. 

In the construction of railroads, to haul earth fiom the cut- 
tings to tlie embankments, and distribute th(3 ties and rails. 

In transporting ])assengers and freight, in districts wher<- 
there are no railroads, or as tributary to existing railroads. 
With suitable carriages attached, a steamer could run any dis- 
tance, provided the surfaces were suitable, with tliii-ty or forty 
passengers, and at a rate of seven miles an hour — thus devel- 
oping and preparing a district for a line of rails. 

On the wharves and docks, in loading and unloading ves- 
sels. 

In raising the stones, ii'on, and liind)er, us(»d in the construc- 
tion of buildings, and in a multitude of similar employments. 

In most of our cities tlier(» v,ould be employment for scores 
of <'ngines, and these would ])i'obably be owned by companies 
who would have their (Mni)loy('es in charge?, and their agents 
looking afte]" fresh work, so that no soonei- v^M^iild one job be 
finished, than the engine, with the I'igging necessary for its 
work, coidd move ofi' as rapidly as an ordinary wagon, to 
another field of labor, alr(,nidy designated. It may be asked, 
cannot any traction engine do all these various works on th<- 
farm, in the city, Jind on the common road — to this I say, no I 
The Williamson Engine alone being able to fill all th<^ I'e- 
quir(^ments, because of its peculiarly constructed wheels, giv- 
ing it su('h wonderful ])ow(^i- and facility of movement. 

In the southern and W(\stern country tlnn'e an^ hundreds ot 
farmers who could on their own lands profitably own and em 
ploy a Williamson Steamei-, but for those ^of fewer acres, 
and for the majority of farmers in the East, a system of (-o-o])- 
eration in the purchase and management would be best. 

They coidd have their lands plowed, lumbiu' cut, grain 
thrashed, and corn shelled at such piices, and undei' such rules 
regulating the question of precedence, as they might adopt. 
Tlie profits of the year to go into iheir own pockets— they 
themselves being stockholders. 

The production of steam-tilled farms, it is probable, will 
greatly increase, as the land will be cheaply, i)romptly, and 
deeply plowed, thus facilitating the operation of seeding, and 
encouraging a more vigorous growth of ])lant. The farmer, not 
only enriched by an incrc^ased product pc^r acre, but boUi he 
and the community benelitted by the saving of those larr/f 



9 

quantitief! of rfrain and liay noio annually consumed hy the 
horses engaged in the mry work to which the engine loill he 
a,pplled, it feeding on the production of the forest and 
mine. 

The Royal Agricultural Society of England appointed last 
year a commission to decide upon the best managed steam- 
tilled farm, and one hundred and foi'ty were deemed worthy 
of inspection. Upon these the reduction of horse-power under 
the new era varied from ten to twenty -five per cent., and was, 
in two cases, as much as sixty. This is all the more remark- 
able, when it is considered that the farm produce to be handled 
is an average of thirty-tliree per cent, over the old system. 

When at Bloomsdale, the statement was made that the pro- 
prietors estimated the annual cost of horse food at market- 
price (the food there being all purchased, not any produced), 
interest and depreciation on their stock at two hundred dollars 
per head. 

In the South and West the value of stock, and cost of keep- 
ing, is less tlian half of that in the East, but supposing that 
one-half of the stock of horses and mules in eight of the West- 
ern States are engaged in the cultivation of the land, and on 
this making a reduction of eighteen per cent., which is proved 
to have lieen the averag<3 reduction in England, and estimating 
on this an annual saving of expense of fifty dollars a head for 
food, interest, and depreciation, we have a saving of thirty-live 
millions of dollars annually. 

These items induce the thought that it would be interesting 
to work out a more accurate and reliable estimate of the gain 
that would accrue to the agricultural community, growing out 
of reduced stock in tillage, and the in(;reased product, the 
result of steam cultivation, through even a partial adoption of 
this n<3w system. 

Before the successful adoption of steam plowing, however, 
our farms must be thrown into larger fields, and cleared of all 
unnecessary f(3nces, headlands, trees, stumps and stones ; and 
this very requisite clearing up and re-modelling will be of 
benefit, increasing the area of tillage-land, and more readily 
allowing deep culture, and, as a consequence, better drainage. 
And when it is considered that every additional inch of soil 
broken up and made productive below the ordinarj' depth of 
culture, gives one hundred tons in which plants can more 
fully develop and draw nourishment, it must be evident that 
deep breaking of the subsoil, will, under all circumstances, be 



10 

beneficial, especially on lands worn out on the surface, as 
are most of the acres of the older Southern States. 

Fences are a great impediment to steam cultivation, and if 
it should serve to direct the attention of agriculturists to their 
almost entire unprofitableness (except to fence in stock, not 
fence out road cattle, as at present), and w^aste of land which 
they occasion, it will be doing another great work. It has 
been estimated that the first cost of all the fences in the State 
of New York was one hundred and fifty millions of dollars, 
and that the annual tax for fencing on each acre of inrproved 
land in the Union, is one and a half dollars. (Solon Robin- 
son.) 

As to the question of the economy of the Williamson En- 
gine, as compared with horses or mules, a reasonably accu- 
rate conclusion can be reached by the foUowing calculation : 
assuming that a pair of inules depreciate two-thiids in value 
in ten years, and that their original cost was four hundred 
dollars, that, at six per cent, simple interest for that time, 
added to the cost of food, stable-room, shoeing, and deprecia- 
tion of harness, and drivers' wages, all at six per ctmt. simple 
interest, we have a daily expense of two dollars and eighty- 
one cents, and as the average of plowing is an acre a day, the 
same two dollars and eiglity-one cents represents the cost per 
acre. 

Now, taking the Williamson Steamer and its gang of 
plows, at a cost of five thousand dollars, and assuming 
the same depreciation of two-thirds on its original cost in ten 
years, and estimating that on i\\Qfarm it will be employed one 
hundred and fifty days in the year (in manj^ other situations 
the emphwment would be more constant, and tlusrefore less 
costly), for a series of years, one finds by a calculation at 
simple interest for ten years on the first cost, added to cost of 
one hundred and and fifty days' work each year ibr ten years, 
for engineer at three dollars, fireman at two, cost of coal and 
cartage of water at five dollars, and wear and tear at ten per 
cent, per annum, all at six per cent, per annum for the ten 
years, and estimating the value of the engine then on hand to 
be one-third of the original cost, one has for the lifteen hun- 
dred working days within the ten years, a daily cost of eighteen 
dollars and thirty-six cents. Now, supj)osing the engine 
plows eight acres a day, we have a cost of two dollars and 
thirty cents per acre, as compared with two dollars and 
eighty-one cents by horse power, to say nothing of tlie supe- 



11 

riority of the work. Oi lookhin- at it in aiiotlior way, tlie 
daily cost of the engine only being that of six and a half 
pair of ninles v/orking in the held, while it does the work of 
eight pair. 

A mere estimate in dollars and eents of tlu^ com])arative 
cost per acre of plowing by horse and by steam ])()wer does not, 
however, show the advantages of the latter to its fullest ex- 
tent. Even if the cost of plowing by steam was greater than 
by horse, it would, in the estimation of large operaf ors, have 
the preference, as by the greater capacity of steam they would 
be enabled to push forward work, not sto])ping for heat or 
drought, and prepare land for seeding in due season, whilst 
others, dependent on animals, would lag beliind. 

On all occasions when the steamer would be einploy(?d as 
a stationary engine, the engineer would act as iireman, and 
frequently burn wood, the production of the farm, instead of 
coal, thus reducing the expense quite five dollars a day. 

A set of Fowlers engines, with tackle, cannot be had for 
less than ten thousand dollars, and requires two engineers 
and four or live men to manage the ropes and implements, 
necessitating such an expense that it can only be profitable 
where the work is constant, and the fields very large, for, 
with the rope system, it talves an average of two hours to put 
down and take up- on a field all the impediments of the En- 
glish system, while, with the Williamson Direct Traction 
Plowing Engine, the time taken to move from field to field is 
only that which would be required to movt- a wagon, and 
when it arrives at a new field, is immediately ready to go to 
work. All the calculations that the writer has ever seen of 
the daily cost, or cost of plowing per acre hy the rope system, 
have been very defective, the interest, and wear and tear, 
either entirely omitted, or else greatly deficient in amount, 
while one will ab.vays find charged the small items of oil and 
cotton waste. 

The use of the steam plow will familiarize farmers with 
machinery which will have a benefitting infiuence, inducing in 
them a greater desire for improvement, and habits of thought- 
fulness beyond the ordinary routine of their fathers, who, 
though they nuty have be(,^n good farmers in their generation, 
would cut a sorry figure in tiiis age of reapers and mowers, 
and of steam and chemistry, as applied to agricultun;. 

Agriculture is indeed taking great strides ; no farmer should 
work in the dark, though, alas! too many do ; the less excuse 



12 

with tlie many botanists and vegetable physiologists, to tell us 
of the liabits and structural development of plants, with the 
many chemists devoted to their science, as applied to agricul- 
ture, teaching the chemical organization of vegetable substances, 
and of the kinds of manure profitable to apply, and with manu- 
facturers of fertilizers off»'ring us articles of sworn composi- 
tion, all which, with steam to prepare the ground, to harvest, 
and thrash the crops, dull must he ])e wiio fails to make pro- 
gress. 

Indeed, it seems that modern agriculture may becouK^ a sci- 
ence, not simply an art, for the personal attention to details, 
keen observation of the habits and formation of plants, and 
chemical and mechanical knowledge needed to carr}^ on n suc- 
cessful system of farming will, ere long, rank in intricacy 
with the deepest of thos<> studies called the "sciences." 

A BrcKs County Fakmkk. 

November 1.0, 1873. 



[Communicated to tiik " Makyi.and Farmer."] 

REPORT OF TRIAL 

OF 

WILLIAMSON'S ROAD ANJ) FIELD STEAMER. 

Made on the Sth of :S ore tube r, 1S7^, at *' Bloontsdale," the 

Countrij Seat and Seed <i rounds of I). LANDllKTH, Esq., 

of 1). Ijandveth <(• Son, l*hiladelphia, l*a. 



By J. Wflkixsox, of Baltimore, Md. 

The Messrs. Landreth having recently introduced the steam 
plow in the tillage of their six hundred acre seed grounds, 
witli gratifying success, in theii- wont<'d generous spirit invit- 
ed a number of friends to visit them and witness the working 
of this modern motor for plowing, hauling, etc., on the farm, 
among which friends the writer feels that he was fortunate in 
being included, as the occasion was most int<^resting. Though 
the day w^as propitious, iallow and stubble ground wc^re (>n- 
tirely too wet for tillage, rain having fallen in torrents the day 
previous, but our host seemed determined we should not be dis- 
api)ointed in seeing the steam plow perform, so he ordei'ed 
it into a favorite, long-standing pasture, which was a iirm 



swartl, apparently kept exclusively as the home of a trio of 
beautiful Alderneys, part of the admirable Bloomsdale herd. 

SIZE OF THE LOT. 

Tlie lot in which we were obliged to plow was rather short, 
it measuring only two hundred and fifty yards in the direction 
of the axis of the furrows, as in plowing by direct traction., 
much is gained by long "lands," — the minimum should not 
b;' It'ss than three hundred yards, but this lield was favorable 
for testing the steam plow under such circumstances as might 
occur. 

The engine turned out on the headland at each end of the 
lot, and set in again without stopj)ing, only losing eacli turn, 
|)erhaps thirty seconds of time. 

TWO EXGINES EXIIIUITEI). 

Two seli-}iropelling sti^amers were exhibited to the com- 
pany, each being of American manufacture, and each having 
rubber tires on the driving wheels. 

One a four-wheeled engine with "compensating gear," hav- 
ing but one cylinder, and a horizontal boiler, the power being 
nominally ten horse, but actual!}' much greater. The general 
appearance of this steamer is similar to the English engines. 
It w^as made especially for farm work, such as plowing, thrash 
ing, and hauling, and although powerful, and doubtless a very 
efhcient engine, it appeared to be cumbrous and plethoric; 
when compared with the second engine, to which our attention 
was especially directed. This latter is supported on three 
wheels, two, the drivers, sustaining nearly the entire weight 
of the engine — the third and smaller wheel being affixed in 
i'roiit, and used for steering, as is the front wdieel of a veloci- 
pede. 

The driving wheels are tifty-eight inches in height, and 
sixteen inches "face," the steering wheel thirty-four inches in 
height, and thirteen inches face. 

THE DUniXG WHEELS, 

The peculiar construction of the driving wheels gives them 
great superiority over all other wheels for traction engines, 
for which the world is indebted to Mr. Thomson, C. E. of 
Scotland, and to Mr Williamson, the manufacturer in this 
country, of these road and field engines, for valuable im- 
i)rovements. 



14 

» 

The Thomson wheel resembles a huge lioUow pulley of 
iron, yet light and strong, the dimensions the same as those 
above described ; its periphery being perforated with half inch 
holes. Surrounding this perforated iron tire is a continuous 
band or tire, of vulcanized rubber, four inches in thickness, and 
sixteen inches in width. Outside of this is an endless chain, 
formed of steel platcis, each plate ])eing four inches in width, 
and of a length to extciud across the face of the rubber tire. 

THE EFFICIENCY OF TIIK WHEELS. 

The practical working of the device \^ perfect ; tlic wlieel, 
as it revolvcvS, thittens out at its bearing, by the weight <•(' tiie 
engine on the elastic tire, tlius greatly ijicreasing its traction. 
Portions of the inner side of th(> rubber tire, when compressed, 
protrudes into the perforafed face of the iron wheel, to which it 
tirmly connects itself, and the eiidlcss chain of plates ad;i])ts 
itself to the ever changing outer surface of the rubber tire, 
which it ])i"otects from injury, and tlie elastic tire, when com- 
pressed, gives a bearing surface of ov(?r six liundred square 
incluis under the three wh(H:'ls, and actually <>xerts a pressure 
not greater upon each square inch covered than does the foot 
of a horse. 

Tli(' efficiency of this traction wheel, a truly wonderful in- 
vention, is attributable to the distribution of the weiglit, and 
increased impact upon the surface on which it revolves. 

Tlici American manufacturer has made a decided improve- 
ment upon the Scotch whc^el, above described. 

It consists in substituting short segmental lags, or blocks of 
rubber, for tln^, expensive continuous tire, or band of this ma- 
terial, and by iitting the wheel to receive "diggcu'S," so as to 
prevent miring in swampy land, at the same time retaining 
the principle of compressibility, so invaluable in a traction 
wheel. 

THE FOKM AND DIMENSIONS OF TIIE WILLIAMSON 
ENCJINE. 

Mounted uj)on three whe(^ls is an upright steel boil(M\ the 
lieight of which, with the smoke stack, is but ten fex^t from the 
ground. 

In front are twohoiizontal cylinders, each six by ten inches, 
with the works, water-tanks, seat and steering apparatus feu- 
the engineer, Avho is pilot as well. 

Back of the boiler are coal bunkers, and platform for fire- 



15 

man, wlio nlso acts as superintendent of tlie plows. The tank 
liolds water for two liours' suppl}'", and the bunkers eoal for 
four hours, and, witli the operators on board, the (engine weighs 
a little over six tons. 

COAL COjN^SUMPTION. 

The coal consumed per diem averages about tliree quarters 
of a ton (bituminous), and of water about live tons; this 
amount will, however, be greatly reduced by an improvement 
in ])rogress. 

The nominal power of the engine is eight horse, but it is 
capable of exerting nearly three times that power, 

DIMENSIONS. 

The length of the engine is thirteen feet, the width six and 
three quarter feet, 

THE PLOW. 

The plowing apparatus consists of a frame, with a gang of 
live to eight plows attached ; each so arranged or set as to cast 
its fiiri'ow into tliat of the plow ]3r(3ceding it. 

The width of the belt plowed of tlie sward, wliich I wit- 
nessed, WMs about six feet, and seven to eight inclies in depth, 
though the power of tlie engine was evidently capable of plow- 
ing a much greater width and depth, as it has plowed at 
Bloomsdale, seven feet in widtli, and ten inches in depth, 

SPEED, 

The speed with Vv^hich the ])low advanced was about double 
that usually made by mules or horses in plowing. 

The soil was nearly free from stones and rocks, and was 
thoroughly plowed. All present pronounced the steamer and 
steam plowing emphatically a success. 

TEST AS A no AD ENGINE. 

Prioi' to the exhibition of tlie engine in plowing, the engi- 
neer x)lied it several times up and down a farin lane, and ran 
it up among buildings, where the turns must necessarily be 
short, and be made with precision ; he also exhil)ited vaiious 
velocipedian performances with admirable skill, and satisfied 
all that the ponderous iron horse could turn much quicker, 
and on a less area than would l)e required to turn a pair of 
horses attached to a farm wagon ; or, to be more explicit, it can 



16 

be turned completely around in a circle of eighteen feet diam- 
eter, as either of the driving wheels can be made to serve as a 
pivot. 

This engine can be run readily on a common road up to ten 
miles an hour. The elastic tire serves as springs, and relieves 
the engine from the injurious effects of concussion. 

One of the most remarkable pf^rformances of the steamer 
was to run up and down, forward and backward, stopping 
and starting at pleasure, on a hill having a gradient of one in 
live. 

PERFORMANCE ON A ROAB IN HAULING A TRAIN OF WAGONS. 

Next in order, two large farm wagons were attached beliind 
the steamer, each fitted up with loose seat lioards across the 
body, and as many as could rid(? were seated, when she 
steamed out on the ])ublic ]-oad, i)assing o])sti'uctions and 
avoiding gate posts in admirable style. 

AVhen once in line on the road, not nnlilvc tlie spirited 
trotter when he strikes the track, our iron horse seemed sud- 
denly excited, and went as though a whole lot of " old boys" 
were after him. Fortunately, the road was a fair one, with 
here and there a stone, suffici^mt to give us a good shaking. 

A¥e sped away a circuit of some two or three miles, and 
jeturned to the starting point, by entering the domain on the 
opj)osite side from that at which we left it, and crossed by 
farm roads, through an area of fifty acres or mor(% which had 
recently been plowed by the engine. The work appi^ared to 
have been executed in a superior manner, Avith a uniform 
depth of nine inches. 

We next witnessed with intense intei'est the plowing of the 
sward, of which I have spoken, which was continued until 
the novelty was slightly waning, Avhen we were informed that 
dinner was next in ord(>r. No announcement on the pro- 
gramme seemed to be more popular, so all marched in the di- 
rection of the large national flag, which waved over the man- 
sion, hidden for the moment from our view by the stately, 
venerable trees that surround it. 

During the ev(ming many siib/jects of general interest 
were discussed. D. 1). AVilliamson, Esq., of 32 Broad w 
New York, who is the sole manufacturer in th(3 United States 
of road and tield steamers, with Williaiusou and Thomson's 
patent wheels, instructively related the history and the many 
advantages of the steamer. 



17 

The discussion of the construction of wagon roads occuj^ied 
a considerable length of time, though not a moment moiv 
than, on account of its importance, it deserved. 

The exemplification of the efficienc}^ of the Williamson En- 
gine as a roadster, for hauling both passengers and freight 
over common roads, especially now when we are laboring un- 
der such inconveniences occasioned by the <>pidemic among 
horses and mules, made tin* discussion of its merits a matter 
of intense interest. 

The founding of towns and cities, the construction of 
dwellings, sources of water supply, landscape gardening, for- 
estry, pisciculture, fertilizers, etc., each shared our considera- 
tion. There seemed to be a general concurrence of opinion on 
all topics discussed, and nothing occurred during the day to 
mar our social pleasures. 

Had I space, a descriptit)n somewhat in detail of Blooms- 
dale, the system of cropping, the implements and machinery 
used in cultivating, haj-vesting, and preparing for market the 
great variety of vegetable and flower seeds there grown, would 
be of interest. Suffice it to say that fifty -eight head of horses, 
mules, and oxen, are used on the farm, and its dependencies, 
and four steam engines, beside the Williamson Road and Field 
Traction Engine about to be permanently added ; twenty-five 
thousand dollars worth of fertilizers are annuall}' applied, in 
addition to the manure made on the fhrm, and every variety 
of implement and machine used in agriculture and horticul- 
ture in this country, may there be found, and what we saw 
there were sufRcient to stock a respectable warehouse. 

Everything is in order, and system, neatness, good taste 
and fitness of things, pervade the entire establishment. 

The seeds grown at Bloomsdale, and on other lands owned, 
occupied, and operated by Messrs. Landreth, are exported to 
the shores of the Pacific, to Australia, and the British Pos- 
sessions in India ; in fine, their seeds are said to be almost as 
well known on the shores of the Ganges, as on the Missis- 
sippi, or Ohio. 

[From " The Practical Farmer," Philadelphia, Decemrer, 1873.] 

INAUGURATION OF A NEW ERA IN AGRICULTURE. 



steam foiver on tlie Fartn and Common lioatfs. 



On the 8th of last month, in company with a number of 
other invited guests, we were present at Bloomsdale, near 



18 

Brifstol, Pennsylvania, the residence and well-known seed farm 
of David Laudretli, containing over live liiindred acres, to wit- 
ness tlie trial of a new'ly invented st^am power, called tlie Wil- 
liamson Road and Field Steamer. The inventor, 1), I). Wil- 
liamson, was present, and the steamer, wdiich bears his name, 
is an American improvement iij^on the well -knowni Thomson 
Road Steamer, as constructed in Great Britain, and is now- 
believed to be, with these improvements, perfectly adapted to 
road and farm service in this country. The American inven- 
tion, which has overcome all previous difhculties, consists 
mainly in the use of a ])eculiar india-rubber tire. 

We had an illustration in the Practical Farmer, of 1871, 
-of this steamer, as she appears when hauling loaded wagons 
'•vOn our common roads. It is a traction engine, differing essen- 
•tially from Eiiglish steam plows, where two stationar}^ engines 
•ai^ used, and plows are drawm from on(^ side to the other by a 
series of endless (^liain ropes or wires. Two steamers on this 
occasion were sliow-n us, in full operation, one having the 
; continuous rubber tire, and the other having th(i tire in sec- 
tional ))]ocks. 

Th(^ first engine exhibited was on four wluu^ls, and fitted 
with elastic tir<^s. formed of sections of vulcanized I'ubber, and 
])artially shod with steel plates, which lattei' secured the rub- 
bei", and iii turn werc^ secured ])y the wIkm^I in an ing<^nious 
maiinei'— which is I). I). Williamson's latest invention. Tlu' 
weight of the engine so compressed these tii'es that an (^lastic 
cushion of nearly three hundred square inch(;s was interposed 
between (^^ch di'iving-wheel of the (mgine and the ground, 
ther<*by enabling the steamer to cross sott lields without sink- 
ing, and consequently without compressing the soil. An 
ingenious compensating gear enabled th(^ stc^ann^r to turn in 
•very small space, without slipping the wheels. 

The second steamer was mounted on thre<3 wheels, and was 
fitted with elastic tire, composed of an immense ring of rubber, 
vulcanized in one piece. This was protected })y achain armor 
of steel plates, linked together at the sides, aiui conforming in 
their movements to every position of tlu^ whe(^ls. This steamer 
could be turned in its own length, and moved itself about like 
a thing of life. No team of horses could have turned, backed, 
and stoj^petb Avith more facility and certainty. Tt was runuj) 
the ste(q:> bridgeway of a barn, having an elevation of one foot 
in live, backed down, and run up again with the greatest ease 
and facility. For a further coniirmation of its capacity, a 



19 

couple of largo farm wagons were coupled beliind it. in which 
about twenty of the guests were seated, for a ride. It trotte<i 
off with us, on the public road towards Bristol, at the rate oi" 
six to seven miles per hour, went through gates, turned in at 
bars, crossed soft gullies, went up sharp hillocks, crossed at a 
sharp elevation the railroad track, and down again on th<' 
other side, and making a short turn, lu-onglit us back through 
a field of fifty acres, whicli had beeii ])Jowed with it, to tlH> 
place of departure. This plowing wiis beantifully done, and 
Ave were informed at an average depth of nine inches, much of 
it being plowed twelve inches deep. iSio more accurate^ or 
level furrows, as it appeared to us, could be made by any 
plowman with a well -trained t^am of horses. Two of D. Lan- 
dreth's sons accompanied the excursion party ^ and pointed 
out the j>l()wing in ditterent places, performed by the steame/. 

After being uncoupled from the wagons, it was attached for a 
trial of plowing to the Williamson Gang Plow, consisting of fiv<' 
plows, secured to one frame. This latter so light, strong, and 
lland3^ is the result of three years' hard work, much patience 
and expense. It is made to contain six hard steel plows, eacli 
cutting a furrow twelve inches wide, and, as D. Landreth in- 
formed the comp any, had on one occasion plowed fourteen 
inches deep. The ordinary depth the steam plow has been 
worked at Bloomsdale is eight inches. On the way to the field 
th(^ plows followed the steamer as readily as a two-wheeled 
cart. Not a moment was lost in getting to work. The field 
selected was an old tough sod, with a steej-) grade in the cen- 
tre. The tripping of a lever by the fireman, which he per- 
foj-med from his station at the boiler, let the plows into the 
ground, and away rolled the steamer as straight as an arrow, 
with the tough sod furrows rolling over behind, like so many 
waves. The work seemed perfect, each furrow being mechani- 
cally correct, and alike in width and depth. At the as(;ent of 
the grade in the middle of the field, no diminished speed was 
observable, the power seeming so arbitrary and irresistible, that 
no ordinary field obstructions could have resisted its continu- 
ous progress. Arrived at the end of the field, the fireman 
pulled another rope, and out shot each one of the plows, the 
steamer spun around on one wheel, ran across the headland, 
and turning into a new land, was instantly at work on the re- 
turn 'hold.' There was no hitch, no slipping or backing, but 
a simple, silent triumph of good, sensible engineering. 

We are thus particular in describing exactly what we saw, 



20 

and was witnessed with surprise and pleasure by the wliole 
company — because it demonstrated that the experiment of 
steam on the farm and on tlie road was successful in every 
point. Coming at a time when tlie farming business is un- 
profitable, and requires reconstruction, this new invention will 
greatly supersede in some sections the labor of men and liorses, 
will make more thorough plowing and tillage, and will in- 
crease profits, by economizing time and labor. On a large farm 
of five hundred acres, like D. Landreth's, where there are no 
inside fences, it must be an invaluable addition to the working 
force. The system pursued at Bh)omsdale is one of higli 
farming, the land being Jcejyt in good heart, and read}^ to re- 
turn sixty or a hundred fold, or wliatever else is asked of it. 
The rapidly removing one crop and speedy putting in another, 
so as to secure the whole growing season, is an important op- 
eration, which can be easily performed by the Williamson 
Steamer, but is slow and ex]iensive b}^ single teams of horses. 
On our small farms around Philadelphia, clogged up with su- 
perfiuous fencing, it is not expected or at all pi-obable that sin- 
gle farmers will buy one of these steamers ; but they transport 
themselves, and may be purchased by individuals, who will 
go around a neighborhood, as now, with horse-powers, and per- 
form thrasliing, ploughing, and various other farm work, at 
a rapid and cheap rate. The heavy demand will doubtless be 
from the West, where furrows an? plowed many miles long. 
They would also do admirably in the State of Delaware, 
where farms are larger than here. 

At the conclusion of a most bountiful dinner repast, I). 1). 
Williamson of New York, the inventor, b}^ invitation, gave 
a brief history of his steam plow, claiming for it not the 
extravagant powers whi(;h entliusiasts were wont to demand 
for their inventions, but that with good management, on 
ground suited to steam cultivation, it would plow from one to 
three acres per hour, according to depth of the furrow, and 
length of the land. The cost of steamer and plow complete, is 
$ff,000, as against $10,000, the cost of the cumbrous English 
system. The consumption of coal is about one ton per day in 
both S3"stems. In addition to the wages of an engineer and 
fireman, the American machine requires only a boy to drive a 
water cart, while the British tackle employs five to six per- 
sons. The acreage plowed is about the same in both systems. 

The Williamson Steamer is fitted so as to drive thrashing 
or other machines, and will haul from twenty to thirty tons of 



21 

freight in wagons, on any fair countiy road, in good condition. 
As regards compression of the soil in passing over, D. Land- 
reth has carefully examined this point, and has found that 
owing to these elastic wheels, no injury or undue compression 
is effected. We consider great credit is due to him und his 
sons, for tlius inaugurating the use of steam power on the farm 
and common road, and demonstrating by practical experi- 
ments on tlie held of Bloomsdale, its adaptation to the uses ol 
the American fanner. 



[From the "Germaj^town Telegraph," Philadelphia, November, 20, 1872. | 
STEAM PLO\\^ING}^ AT BLOOMSDALE. 



The trial of the Williamson Locomotive for road and field 
purposes came off at the splendid estate of the Messrs. Laiid- 
reth, on Friday the 8th, instead of Thursday the 7th, the day 
being changed on account of the weather. We have several 
printed reports and communications of the trial, being un- 
avoidably absent ourselves on this interesting occasion. We 
have, however, witnessed several similar trials of ])lowing by 
steam, the first being somewhere about twelve years ago. Still, 
we should have been pleased to witness this trial, Avliich 
was mo]-e complete and varied than the others. Trnction 
steam-pow.^r in plowing is by no means new, eitlier in this 
country or in Eui'ope, especially in England ; but it 1ms been 
somewhat supplanted by the anchor-power, stationed at the 
headlands, wld('h we have so often referred to in these 
columns. 

The Williamson-Thompson Locomotive, as it is called, 
from being the joint product of these two gentlemen, the for- 
mer an American, and the latter, we believe, a Scotchman, pos- 
sesses several peculiarities in its construction with a view to 
contract th(^ size, yet retain its power, and enable it to be 
easily liandled and turned, not to be found in the others, 
which are of considerable importance to its permanent work- 
ing. In the wheels, especially, there are many decided im- 
provements, the principal ones being the use of India-rubber 
in sections, which, forming the rims, cause the weight of the 
engine to pass over the ground evenly. Much of tli<' machin- 
ery is concealed, and is somewhat complicated, but not liable 
to get out of order. 



90 

It was first used as a road motor, drawing two farm wag- 
cms, loaded witli interested spectators, on the public liigli- 
wa.ys, crossing a railroad, ascending considerable elevations, 
and turning around in a common lane. About two miles 
were thus traversed, but there were other experiments in- 
dulged in, such as running up the carriage-way to the barn, 
stopping half way, and starting up again, t^tc. These showed 
tfiatthe locomotive possessed the power to overcome ascents. 
It was also run over a plowed field, tlirough puddles of water, 
etr-., the construction of the wheels preventing undue sinking. 
All these excellent features in this locomotive, we have over 
and over read of in the previous trials of it, and had no doubt 
then that they were correct as they are now proven to l)e. In 
fact we saw one of the locomotives last week on our way to 
New York, used as a rival to the liorst railioays, in carrying 
passengers. This, if we remember rightly, was at Elizabeth. 

Its qualities, liowever, as a power for plowing on fields, jire 
the most important ])art of the present consith'iiition. That it 
exliibited these qualities in an emiiiently satisfactory degree 
is the assurance of eveiy gentleman present who has (H)mmu- 
nJcated with us on tlie subject. We had ourselves no appre- 
hension of tliis before the trial took place, and we so distinctly 
said some two montlis ago, o]i learning that the Messis. Landreth 
had procured o]ie of the AVilliamson Engines. The question 
of traction steam })lowing has long been settled, l)ut tlKU-e is 
anotlier question wliicli has not been, which we shall britifiy 
refer to presently. As to the plowing done at Bloomsdale, it 
was well done, and as i)erfectly as by hand-plowing. Five 
plows, cutting furrows seven inches dee}) and ten inches wide, 
at the I'ate of about one acre per hour, woilved admirably ; the 
engine was turned easily and quicjkl}^ but not so rapidly as 
horses are — we beg to ditter from some — which scarcely occu- 
pies half a minute ; but so quickly as to be a matter of wonder. 
A statement made on the occasion that three acres an hour 
can be accomplished, is of course unworthy of a thought. In 
ground like that of the great seed farm at Bloomsdale — almost 
level, a sandy root loam, constantly worked and manured, 
without a stump, a roat, or a stone — a steam plow revels in a 
paradise, and can doubtless be used there, not only to per- 
fection, but with profit ; with profit, because it is liardly a 
question there of dollars and cents to get the work done in the 
nick of time, when the weather is favorable, and the cro])s 
ouglit to be in. 



23 

In England, the average work of a steam plow per day is 
from eight to ten acres — that is where steam plows are nsed, 
and their use is far more limited there than is commonly be- 
lieved. Here the work of the Williamson will be about the 
same, but say the highest number, ten acres. In support 
of this we quote the following from a private note of Mr. 
Landreth, senior, who is one of our life long and best be- 
loved friends, and we take the liberty of doing so because 
what he says is of public interest, and can be perfectly 
I'elied on : 

"I think we have solved at Bloomsdale the problem of 
plowing by direct traction, so far as light, level, friable land 
is concerned. I speak only of such — beyond that our experi- 
ence does not extend, and I desire not to mislead others. 
We can readily plow an acre an hour, and while I write 
these lines I have within sight the Wiliamson-Thomson En- 
gine, with five plows attached, turning over a pretty stitf sod 
at that rate, and running as steadily as did in olden times the 
(Jonestoga wagon." 

But the main point for consideration, after all, is that of 
ECONOMY. Of this nothing is said, and indeed notliing need 
be said, so far as it refers to the emplojanent of this power by 
the Messrs. Landreth. As a point for the general farmer, 
iiowever, or even of the most extensive farmers of the West 
imd South-west, it is one of controlling importance. So far the 
(economical question lias been tlie death ]Aow of former steam 
traction plows, and until that is settled satisfactorily, and on 
the right side of the balance sheet, steam as a motor for plow- 
ing will be restricted to particular cases. 



[Feom George Blight, Esq., a Well-known and Practical Farmer in 
Pennsylv^vnlv, November 20, 1872.] 

ploavinct by steam. 



On the invitati<ni of Mr. David Landreth, a number of gen- 
tlemen assembled at Bloomsdale, near Bristol, Pennsylvania, 
to witness an exliil)ition of plowing by steam. Those pres- 
ent were deeply interested in agriculture, and the application of 
steam to the cultivation of the soil. Tlie}^ had heretofore seen 
the performances of other plows in the vicinity of Philadelphia, 



24 

and while tliey sympathized with the inventors, they felt that 
mnch more was to be done before any practical results would 
be obtained. 

On this occasion Mr. Williamson exhibited a *• steamer," 
capable of performing not only the plowing, bnt the heavy 
hauling of the farm. Two hay wagons were attaclied, and the 
visitors were taken over the large estate of Mr. Landreth, and 
then on the main road, travelling at the rate of about seven 
miles per hour. 

The plowing was equally successful. A thorough trial 
was given on that day, and also during the past month, some 
fifty acres having been turned over at the rate of on<; acre per 
hour. 

Your cori'es])ondent will attc^npt no description of the 
plow — his part is simply to chronicle its success. All present 
were unanimous in their approval of the work done, and 
rejoiced in this new era in the progress of agricidture. 



[Fhom the " Gerjiantown Daily Chronicle," PuiLADELrHiA, 
November 11, 1872.] 

STEAM TRACTIOTsr. 



Williamson's Road <nid Field Steamers — A Successful THal 
at Jiloonisdale. 



It is a hap])y coincidence, that while we are threatejXMl 
with the loss of oui' ]iorse-])Ower, a patriotic gentleman has 
applied his large means and tah^nts to the ap])]ication of 
steam as a moti^c^ and ti'action power for the road and plow. 
The English have employed an inferior invention for some 
time; as long ago as ]8.')4 there were, in Great Biitain, nine 
hundred steam plows, whi(di were moved about from farm to 
farm in some cases, while in others, individuals are possessed 
of sufficient land to own one of their own. Th<^ names of 
Fowler and Howard are farmhold words in England. In this 
country, where the land to be cultivated is often less level and 
free from obstruction, this mode of br(^aking u]) the ground 
has not been till now a gi-eat success. The exp^Mise of a ma- 
chine, and the education to work it, have hem obstacles ; but 
if the experiment at Blocmisdale, on Friday last, may be deem- 
ed a success, as we sincerely think it may, a most important 



25 

labor saving machine lias been introduced. Bloomsdale, how- 
ever, is somewhat exceptionally a convenient and level spot 
for the trial, with six hundred acres, and no fencing, except 
the boundaries. 

A number of gentlemen assembled by invitation at Mr. 
Landreth's seed farm, near Bristol, Pennsylvania, and were 
invited to see the monster plow. Steam was uj), and the en- 
gine exhibited to great advantage as a roadster. It turns in 
as short a radius as the most modern carriage, runs up an 
incline with great ease, and is under complete control by the 
management of two men. It was attached to two hay wagons, 
in which twenty-four men took seats, and wei-e conveyed on 
an excursion over the large premises. At one time it swept 
through an open gate, bringing its attaclies through with 
great accurac}^. A locomotive, with a train from New York, 
came along, when the passengers, seeing tlie stranger waiting 
to cross the traclsif which it soon did, and ran up tlie incline to 
the road, cheered the invention vociferously. The party ex- 
pressed tliemselves greatly pleased with the excursion, and 
no less with the beauty and order of the seed-growing. 

The new traction engine was quickly harnessed to a liuge 
plow, and taken to a live acre lot in deep sod, that had not 
been brok<^n up for years. 

It rapidly went to work, turning up five deep furrows 
with the greatest ease, and was pronounced by all a 
trium])h. It is capable of plowing one acre per hour, as 
much as a usual day's work with horses, and may thus get 
through in a perfect manner, ten to twelve acres in a working 
day. The Thomson patent wheel, greatly imj)roved by Wil- 
liamson, ingeniously constructed so as to give a long impact 
or touch to the earth, is the great secret of this invention. 
The india-rubber is made into the form of cans for fruit, with 
strips for a guard, and the weight of the machine rests upon 
these, tliey give way slightly, and the greater contact imprin- 
ges on the earth or sod sufficiently to gain traction power. 
There is no injurious compression of the soil, the great bear- 
ing surface of the rubber tires distributing the weight of the 
steamer so as not to exceed the pressure of the hoof of an or- 
dinary horse. The steamer steers perfectly well, and can turn 
at the end of the held as quickl}^, and in as little space as 
horses. Fly wheel and governor are attached, with which to 
drive thrashing machines, cotton gins, or other stationary ma- 
chinery. The engine used was the eight horse (nominal) road 



26 

steamer ; the plows are of the best steel, and are arranged to 
plow from one to nme Inches deep. A gang of six breaking 
23I0WS, eacli cntting fourteen inches wide, costs, with steamer 
and stationary gear complete, $5,500 net, and will break, if 
required, even two acres per hour of running time, with the 
ground in good condition. With a rigid beam it will plow 
eight inches deep, at the same rate of speed and cost as above. 
Ill some sections a seeder and harrow can be attached, and 
til us complete the field work in one operation. No addi- 
tional help is required in plowing, beyond that of the engineer 
and iiremaii, as the latter also attends to the plows. 

With heavy work a consumption of three pounds of soft 
coal is required, the extremes being from two to four pounds 
of coal per mile for each ton of gross load on common 
roads. The consumption of water will be about seven pounds 
(three and a half quarts) for each pound of coal consumed. 
Thus an eight horse power road steamer, \Aj^^ighing six tons, 
drawing a load of eighteen tons, making a total weight to be 
moved of twenty-four tons, will consume seventy-two pounds 
of coal per mile on good level roads; say half a ton of coal 
per day's work of ten hours. The machine has bunkers for a 
day's supply of coal, and tanks for one-third of a day's siip- 
l)ly of water. 

We have been thus particular in noticing this labor saving 
ai)paratus, becaus(i it is likely at no future day, and with 
probably other imj)rovements and simplifications, to be one 
of the farmer's cherished labor saving applications of ingenu- 
ity, thought and skill. It will not have the rapid inti-oduction 
that the reaper had, and probably will be own(ul by parties 
who will take it round and plow for a neighborhood, at a given 
sum per acre. It works so rapidly that it will accommodate 
a number of farmers at the season when most required, and 
all know the great advantage of breaking up the giound in 
the fall season, and leaving it to the nourishment and disinte- 
gration of winter frosts. A good })usiness may be created by 
a moderate expenditure. 

We cannot close our bi'ief notice without a word on tlu; 
great Landreth seed farm. In extent and importance it has no 
rival at home or al)road ; it is managed with busiii(>ss tact of a 
high order, and with experience that it has taken at least 
^fty years to perfect. The kindness and liberality of the 
owner are nowhere exceeded. In short, Bloomsdale seed 
farm is a model of completeness and usefulness beyond praise. 



27 

No English gentleman can be more j lastly proud of his acres 
than Mr. Landreili, and in the useful eniph^^nient of his 
talents and money, we know no one to be more envied. One 
would suppose twenty acres would raise all tlie seeds re- 
quired, but here are six hundred, and the product is carried 
to the East and West Indies, and even to Europe, and there 
is never an overplus. 



[Feom the "Bucks County Intelligencer," Novembeu 12, 1873.] 
TRIAL OF A STEAM PLOAV. 



An Interesting Day at Bloomsdale. 



The application of steam to agricultural purposes, espe- 
cially to the work of plowing, has hitherto received much less 
attention in the United States than in Europe. On tlie farms 
in England some three thousand steam plows are in operation, 
while in this country, with its great facilities for using them, 
particularly on the great plains of the west, tliere are proba- 
bly less than a dozen of tliese implements emx)loyed. This is 
doubtless in a measure owing to the great cost of those in use 
in Great Britain, which, up to a recent period, liave been the 
only kind of steam apparatus adapted to this branch of farm- 
ing. Plowing by steam in England, as is known by those 
wliose attention has been directed to the subject, is done by a 
stationary engine, placed on the side of the held, by which the 
plows are operated, by using long wire ropes. At tirst, only 
one engine was used, but it was soon found necessary to have 
two, stationed on opposite sides of the held, the plows to be 
run by a complication of machinery, and the wire ropes al- 
ready mentioned. This method was so far from satisfactory, 
that the inventive powers of those interested in the matter 
were set to work to devise a plan by which a steamer could be 
constructed that, instead of remaining at a hxed point, could 
be moved across the held, drawing the plow after it. To ac- 
complish this the main object was to construct wheels on 
which to run the engine, of such a character that they would 
adhere to the ground sufficiently, and at the same time not 
sink much below the surface. This mu(di desired end, it is 
believed, has been achieved by the employment of india-rub- 



28 

ber in making the rims of the wheels. It remained for an 
Amc^rican inventor, B. D. Williamson, of New York, to make 
a practical application of this discovery in the sliape of a 
steamer for plowing in the manner last described, and for 
which he has obtained a patent. Abont two months ago 
David Landreth & Son, proprietors of the great seed farm at 
Bloomsdale, near Bristol, had two of Mr. Williamson's Steam- 
ers bronght to their place, for the pnrpose of testing tliem. 
The Messrs. Landreth are well known as liberal patrons of 
every im]:)rovement calculated to advance the interests of 
agriculture, and they liave therefore exerted themselves 
very diligently in testing the merits and capacity of Mr. 
Williamson's invention, not only for their own and the in- 
ventor's satisfaction and advantage, but for the benefit of 
the farming interests in the country generally. They have 
plowed about fifty acres of ground upon their farm with 
these machines, and so well were they satisfied with tliem, 
that it was decided to give a more public exhibition of their 
operation. 

Accordingly, on Fridny last, by invitation of the Messrs. 
Landreth, a number of prominent persons interested in agri- 
cultural progress, from Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, 
Boston, and other places, assembh^d at Bloomsdale, for the 
purpose of examining the workings of this great invention, 
which seems destined to bring about a revolution in farming 
in the United States. The company, including man}'' persons 
who had never visited Bloomsdah^ before, spent some time in 
inspecting th(^ buildings, and other objects of interest about the 
premises, and then gathered to examine the steamer, whicli 
was fired up, and in order for use. Tlie general construction 
of tlie st(vamer is similar to that of ordinary portable engines, 
the chief points of distinction being tlie style of the wheels, 
and additional apparatus for turning them around. One of 
them has four wheels, the two in front, which are used to guide 
the steamer, being much nari-ower and smaller than the two 
liind ones, the rims of \N'hich are ;ibout eighteen inclx^s in 
width. The front wheels, upon which there is a much lighter 
weight, are only half that size. Between the inner and outer 
surfaces of tlie rims of the wheels are placed a series of sec- 
tions or blocks of india-rubber, four inclies in thickness, 
through which metallic bolts are easily passed. These run 
through a series of iron platens, three inches wide, and an incji 
in thickness, which are placed a short distance apart, and 



29 

form tlie outside surface or tire. By this aiTangeraent tlie 
weight of the engine compresses tlie india-rubber, a large sur- 
face of the wlieel comes in contact with the ground, the weight 
of tlie machine is distributed over a much larger portion of 
the ground than it can be by any other known means, and the 
pressure at any point, therefore, does not much exceed that 
pi-oduced by tlie hoof of an average horse. The other is a 
three wheeled steamer, the guide wheel being immediately 
in front. Another, and the principal point of distinction 
between it and the other is, that the india-rubl)er used in 
the construction of the wheels, instead of being in sec- 
tions, is a continuous band around the wlieel. Mr. Wil- 
liamson does not tliink this as good a plan as to have it in 
sections. 

The visitors were lirst shown the locomotive powers of the 
steamers. They are perfectly manageable, even in the hands 
of engineers of limited experience. Tliey can be readily and 
quickly stopped, either on the level or in ascending a hill. 
By an ingenious attachment one wheel is made to stand still, 
while the other moves, so that they can be turned around with 
perfect ease. Their forward movement is readily checked, and 
they can be backed with facility. Their movements in this 
particular excited universal admiration. The next step in 
the programme was to exhibit their adaptation to the jjur- 
poses of hauling or carriage over our common wagon roads. 
For this purpose a train, consisting of two heavy farm wag- 
ons, was rigged up. These were provided with seats, and 
the train was attached to the rear of the engine. The seats 
were soon tilled with a portion of the company, and when all 
were ready the signal was given, and the train moved off. 
Starting at the center of the farm, near the buildings, it j)assed 
through an ordinary wagon-way, out to the turnpike, over 
ground both hard and yielding, and surface rough, as well as 
even, up hill and down, the engine pufRng and snorting along 
to the astonishment of the peoplo, who ran from their houses, 
and from their work in the lields, to gaze at the novel specta- 
cle. Leaving the turnpike at the road bounding the Blooms- 
dale farms on the east, the procession passed on northward, in 
the direction of the Philadelphia and Trenton liailroad, which 
was approached ,iust as an express train passed by. The pas- 
sengers caught sight of the formidable train, and from joy at 
having escaped being demolished hy it, or from delight at the 
dawn of the new era in the age of steam, the windows flew open, 



30 

and hats and handkerchiefs came forth in large numbers, wliich 
salute was returned by the Bloomsdale party, who, by this 
time, were in ecstacies over the success of this new experiment 
in railroading. The train now crossed the railroad, up a steep 
embankment, and passing around about half of the farm, 
turning several corners, through narrow passages success- 
fully, going over ground in many ])laces decidedly yield- 
ing, from the effects of recent rains, returned at last to the 
place of starting safe and sound. The distance travelled 
was over two miles, and the rate of speed about six 
miles an hour. Those who enjoyed tliat ride will not soon 
forget their first experience at railroading, under the new 
dispensation. 

The next and most important part of the exhibition was tlie 
plow trial. This test was made under somewhat unfavorable 
circumstances. Owing to the heavy rains during the middle 
of the week, the grounds on the farm were too wet for a fail* 
test of the machine. It was, however, decided to make the 
trial in a piece of sod ground, although the plow was not 
rigg(^d for that purpose, having no coulters attached. The 
one that was used on the occasion consists of a series of six 
plows. These plows are made of steel, and are attached to a 
heavy wooden beam, to which two shafts are affixed. The 
beam runs obliquely with the shafts, by which the plows, 
when in motion, just precede each other in turning up the 
earth. On this trial it was thought best to take off one of the 
plows, and use but five. The plows can be run any desired 
depth, from six to ten inches, this being regulated by quad- 
rants attached to the fram(\ When all was ready, the frame 
work of the plow was attached to the rear of the steamer, by a 
heavy chain, and the machine, under the charge of the engi- 
neer and fireman, was put in motion. The ground chosen for 
the trial was covered with a rather stiff sod, but the soil was 
deep and loose below, and with all the variety of surface for a 
thorough t^st of plowing, both on the level, and up and 
down hill. The plows entered the ground promptly at 
the bidding of the fireman, who, in addition to his other 
duty, had charge of the apparatus for this purpose, as well as 
for lifting them oiit of the ground at the other end. It plowed 
a uniform depth of about seven inches, each furrow being- 
turned over as nicely as if done by an experienced plowman, 
in the usual way. At tlie end, the plows were taken from the 
ground quickly and easily, and the turning of the steamer 



31 

and plows to enter fresh furrows on the other side of tlie 
enclosure, was done as speedily, and witli as mucli facility, as 
with an ordinary pair of horses. The plow was run at differ- 
ent degrees of speed, from that of a common plow team, to 
double that rate. By increasing the rate of speed, the ground 
is pretty thoroughly torn to pieces, and we should think that 
were it sufficiently dry, and in good order, it would not need 
mucli harrowing afbn'wards. Each plow makes a furrow a 
little over a, foot in width, the whole five at a sweep plowing 
a space of six feet. When all six of the plows are attached, 
it turns up a space of a little over seven feet wide. Tlie work 
was done so well that the trial was successful, even beyond the 
expectation of the inventor, who was present, and all others 
who witnessed it. By running at a moderate rate of S2:)eed, it 
will readil}" plow an acre an hour. This is about the average 
of the work that has been done by the i)low at Bloomsdale. 
But this is by no means the limit of its capacity. Mr. Wil- 
liamson had a letter from a party in the West, to whom h** 
had sold one of the machines, in which it was stated that it had 
plowed as much as three acres of prairie land an hour. The 
price of the two steamers, respectively, is $4,500 and $5,000. 
The company present at the trial on Friday, was composed of 
intelligent men, many of them of large experience in agricul- 
tural matters, and others of extensive scientific attainments, 
and skilled in machinery, and the}' were united in the opinion 
that the aftair was a grand success. It was concluded that 
the steam plow is a fixed fact, and that if the invention has 
not 3'et reached perfection, it has approached so near it as to 
warrant the prediction that a great revolution in the culture of 
the soil is at hand, the impoi'tance of which it is impossible to 
estimate. 

After the trial was over, the comj^any returned to the fine 
mansion of Mr. Landreth, when tlie hospitalities of the pro- 
prietor were dispensed with his usual liberality. The splendid 
dinner provided for the guests accorded well with the impor- 
tance of the occasion, which may yet prove an epoch in our 
agricultural history, of more moment than the most sanguine 
friends of progress now antici]iate. At the close, the ploAv, 
the plow-maker, and Messrs. LaTidreth & Sons, were* toasted, 
and speeches, abounding in wit. pleasantry, and general good 
feeling, were made by Gen. Patterson, Dr. Emerson, J. I. 
Smith, of Philadelphia; Prof, \yilkinson, of Baltimore; 11. 
Morris Copeland, of Boston ; ^h\ Williamson, and others. 



32 

Thus ended one of the most interesting and pleasant gather- 
ings in the experience of those who enjoyed it, and one that 
will be remembered in the future among the most hap})y recol- 
lections of their lives. 



[From the "Journal op the Farm," Philadelphia, December, 1873.] 

A\^ILLIAMSON'S R-OAD AND FIELD 
STEAMER. 



Road and Field Steamer Trial. 



The absolute necessity of introducing to general use, or 
at least for us(^ upon large farms, some motor b}' which ploAV- 
ing, heavy hauling. Etc., can be done more readily and more 
cheapl}' than by horse or mule, or ox power, is beginning to be 
recognized in this country. In England, the subject has been 
discussed at length, and the pi-actical rt^sults are seen in the 
use on many English farms, of steam plows. Latterly, road 
and held steamers have been introduced into the United States, 
and we had an <)i)poitunit3^ of witnessing their operation a few 
weeks since, at Bloomsdale, on the farm of David Landreth & 
Son. We are prepared to indorse their strong claims to 
popular favor. 

About two months since, Messrs. Landreth & Son had two 
of these improved steamers brought to their tarm, at Blooms- 
dale, for the purpose of giving them a thorough, practical trial. 
After having jolowed some fifty acres with tlunu, they were so 
well satishcd of their value, that a public exhibition of the 
machine at work was agreed upon, and in company with a 
number of otlnn- invited guests, wo were present. The main 
feature of tli<' engine is the peculiar chara(;ter of the wheels. 
This is the invention of Mr. I). D. Williamson, of New Yoik. 
Lacking space for a ininute desci-iption of tli(>se whecils, wt; 
must content ourselves with briefly stating that tlu^ lims, or 
tires, are made of india-rubber, which, being elastic, sufficient 
adhesion is obtain(Hl by the driviug-wlieels, without damage 
to the rcradway. Thes(^ elastic tires also act as a p; I'fect spring, 
and thus sav(^ the machine from injur}^ while travelling over 
rough surfaces. Tl)(3 general constru(^tion of the steamer in 
other respects is like that of ordinary portable engines. 

The locomotive power of the steamers was hrst exhibited 



33 

to the visitors. They were shown to be perfectly manageable, 
whether on an ascent or descent. Two heavy farm wagons, 
provided with seats, were attached to one of the engines. The 
seats were filled with a portion of the company, and the train 
started — passing over hard, as well as yielding gronnd, rough 
as well as smooth. Steep eml^ankments were ascended, short 
curves turned, and after travelling for at least two miles, at a 
speed of six miles per hour, the starting point was again 
reached. 

The most important part of the exhibition was the plow 
trial. The ground chosen was a stiff sod, with a deep loose 
soil below. The plow used consisted of a series of six plows, 
one of wliicli was taken oft\ We have not space to describe 
the construction of the plow, reserving that for another occa- 
sion. The plow can be run to any desired depth. It is 
attached to the engine by a strong chain, and is managed by 
the fireman, who not only regulates the depth, but operates 
the apparatus for lifting it — or them, rather — out of the ground 
at the end of the field. This latter operation is as quickly and 
easily performed as is the lifting and turning of a single plow, 
with horses attached. Each plow makes a furrow of a little 
over a foot in width, the five turning up a space of about six 
feet. The depth was uniformly seven inches, and when the 
ordinary horse speed was adopted, the furrows were evenly 
laid, but the rate was doubled, and then the soil was so 
thoroughly disintegrated as scarcely to require harrowing. 
Running at a moderate speed, it will plow an acre an hour, but 
this speed can be increased at will. 

After the very satisfactory exhibition of the capacities of 
the engines and plow, the company returned to the fine man- 
sion of Mr. Landreth, where they were most hospitably enter- 
tained. We regret that want of space compels us to give so 
brief a descrij)tion of the pleasant occasion. 



[Fkom The "Ledgek and Tkanscript," Philadelphia, Dec. 19, 1873.] 
STEAM ROAD WAGGONS AND PLOWS. 



An esteemed correspondent sends us the following ac- 
count of the performances of Williamson's Common Road 
Steamer, for the propulsion of wagons, and for field service on 



34 

farms. The exhibition of the steamers was recently given at 
Mr. D. Landreth's seed farm, Bloomsdale, near Bristol. Our 
correspondent writes as follows: — "The steamer adapted to 
common roads, had two farm wagons attached, with twenty- 
four persons in them. Starting with this train, it passed down 
a lane, through a gate, took the public road, turned into by- 
roads, and after a run of two or three miles, at a lively rate, 
returned to the place from whence it set out. The steamer is 
cjuite manageable, under direction of two young men, one the 
conductor, and the other a lireman. It turned in a very small 
space, and seemed as easily contiolled as a velocipede. Its 
liauling capacity is from fifteen to twenty tons, and hills of 
moderate grades are readily passed over. In carrying passen- 
gers on a good road, it is claimed that a speed of twelve miles 
per hour may be made. In plowing, or other heavy work, the 
speed does not exceed four miles per hour. 

" On Mr. Landreth's great seed form of five hundred acres, 
without inside fences, and in high cidture, about fifty acres had 
been turned wp in an admirable manner, to a depth varying 
from seven to nine inches. To afford his visitors an oppor- 
tunity of seeing the machinery work, Mr. Landreth had it 
turned into a fresh field of stiff clay sod. Through this it 
w€mt with perfect ease, guid(Kl by tlie young engineer, the 
fireman setting in the gangs of 2)]ows, and raising them at 
the end of the rows. I'he turning was accomplished in from 
thirty to fifty seconds, by a watch. The gang of plows con- 
sisted of five each, turning about fourte^:>n inches each, and 
altogetlKM' a width of six feet. A sixtli ^^lov/ can be fixed to 
the beam, but with five plows nearly an acre an hour can be 
readily turned, or about eight acres per day, with due allow- 
ance for impediment. 

" The main princij)le upon which this steamer depends for 
its success over all others, is a peculiar construction of its 
wheels, enabling these, in their rotation, to take a strong hold 
on the ground, so that nearly all the power of the engine is 
expended in traction or i)ropulsion. Tlie tires of the wheels 
are made of elastic rubber, of extraordinary thickness. Upon 
the circumference steel plates are attached, about a foot long, 
three-quarters of an inch thick, and an inch apart, making 
the face of the wheels one foot wide. On coming upon the 
ground, these broad, elastic wheels, yielding to the pressure 
upon their rims, take a strong hold. The weight of the engine 
is so distributed upon the broad wheels that these cause no 



35 

greater impact upon tlio ground than tliat ordinarily made by 
tlie lioofs of horses. The rnbber ties operate as springs, and 
obviate tlie effects of concussion. These steamers — rated 
nominally of about eight horse power— with the gang of steel 
plows, cost about $5,000. A fair estimate of their value must 
be based upon the amount of vv^ork they are capable of doing, 
and time saved. These machines can be em})loyed not only in 
breaking up ground, and preparing for crops in little time and 
in the best manner, but in reaping crops, thrashing the grain, 
hauling it to market, and doing other things to which steam 
))Ower is adapted." 



[From the "Boston Daily Advertiser."] 

PENnSTSYLVANIA. 



The Farms of David Landreth and Iiis Sons.— A Keiv Steam Plow 
and Traction Engine. — Modern Tniproretnents in Farming. 



[from an occasional cokrespondent.] 
I RECEIVED recently an invitation to go to Bloom sdale, at 
Bristol, on the line of the New York and Philadelphia road, 
the home and farm of David Landreth, the great seed-grower, 
to witness an exhibition of a new steam plow and traction 
engine. We have carried the improvement of some kinds of 
agricultural machinery so far that no great improvement in 
the method of harvesting crops are likely to be made. Altera- 
tions in methods and machines will follow their use, but no 
radical change is to be expected which can affect the crop of 
the country. But an improvement in plowing, which will 
give a man the same control of the preparation of his land 
that the mower or reaper has over his ripe crop, would be of 
incalculable advantage. There are two short seasons — one in 
the fall, the other in the spring — for j)lowing, and on the 
good use of these two periods depends the amount of every 
crop. A few days of i-ain, or of cold, wet weather, that pre- 
vents the hot spring sun evaporating the water from the 
saturated earth, may reduce the crop ver}^ largely. An average 
team can plow an acre of average land seven inches deep in 
a day. If a man has a hundred acres to plow and seed, it 
will take ten teams ten days, and all the' chances of weather, 



36 

the cost being forty dollars a da}^ at least, or four dollars per 
acre. If lie could plow the land with one machine in ten 
days, at about two dollars per acre, and do his work better, 
there would be reason to believe that a man could get rich by 
farming. Now, better than this can be done. * ^' ^^ 
About twenty -five 3^ears ago Mr. David Landreth, the liead 
of the i^resent firm, bought the farm of five hundred acres, 
which he now occupies at Bristol, having a long river front, 
permitting all manures and heavy freight to be landed at his 
v/harf, and backed by the canal, and by the railroad. The 
land was a sandy soil, easy to cultivate, and easily dried after 
rains, but was wretcliedly poor. He and his sons began tlieir 
work with vigor, and to-day the five hundred acres, the huge 
barns, seed-rooms, wareliouses, lawns decorated with the most 
beautiful trtH^s and shrubs, the dwelling-house, which was an 
old farm-liouse, which has now blossomed out with dormers 
and gables, and is shaded with broad piazzas, and clad with 
luxuriant vines, make a picture and tout 6m6Y:'?7z7^Z6' not equalled 
anywhere else in this country. These Xwii hundred acres are 
ever under a crop, and the barns and seed-rooms are filled and 
emptied five to seven times each year with difterent seeds. 
Once liarvested, the plants that are full of seed are liandled 
mostly b}^ steam power— are rais(Hland lowered, thrashed and 
winnowed, dried and carried to their bins by steam power — and 
are then assorted and packed by nimble-fingered girls and 
boys, into the little and big packag(^s ftimiliar to our gardent^rs 
gind farnu^rs. Every crop, when prepared, is divided into two ; 
one-half bcnng sent to the city warehouse, the other remaining 
on tlu? farm, thus being secured from danger of total loss by 
iire. Wliere the grandfather grew pounds of seed, these men 
grow tons. ''• * '•• 

They have added to their home farm another, across the 
river, in New Jersey. They buy all tlieir peas from Northern 
New York farmers, where, as yet, the weevil has not gone. 
Their potatoes are grown in New England and New York, and 
their corn from Canada to Virginia. * * * 

At Bloomsdale, all the constructive and repairing work of 
the farm is done by themselves ; they have shops to make and 
repair their tools, and when one looks at the stacks of tools, 
droves of plows, the flocks of harrows, the swarms of seed- 
sowers, drills, and minor instruments of culture, he might 
think he was in an agricultural warehouse, rather than on a 
farm. It takes forty horses and mules, and an army of 



37 

laborers, to produce and manage all the crops. Hundreds of 
tons of guano, super-phosphate, bones, blood, offal and niglit- 
soil, are landed each year on these farms, coming from all 
parts of the world, as well as the United States, and side by 
side you may see the hoofs, blood, and bones, of the Chicago 
cattle-yard, and the Cincinnati slaughter-house, and guano 
from the Chincha Island guano beds. 

Every toil-worn inventor knows how hard it is to lind a 
good chance to try his machine, especially if a large one, and one 
whicli rec[uia"es the co-operation of other men. j\Ir. William- 
son, the American patentee of the traction engine, learned this 
to his cost, and tried long and fruitlessly to find a place to 
experiment in steam plowing, until he met \N'ith Mr. Lan- 
dreth, who was not only ready to believe in and help forward 
a good invention, but could open fields for steam culture tliat 
would fully test the power and value of any machine. I will 
not consume space describing the machine itself, for that I 
will refer to the patentee, D. D. Williamson, 32 Broadway, 
New York. The peculiarity of the engine is that it lias a 
wide band of india-rubber, six inches thick, for the tire of it,s 
wheels — one engine has the rubber in a continuous ring, the 
other in sections ; the rubber is faced witli a kind of chain 
armor, which keeps it from contact with, and wear on tlm earth, 
but the india-rubber spreads under the weight of the engine, 
and the face or rim of the wheel seems to open out like the 
paw of the cat, or the foot of an elephant, and gets great hold 
on the ground ; and although the machine weighs seven tons, 
its two wheels do not press sod ground more than an inch 
deep, marking its passage over fallow ground by a path 
fourteen inches wide, and an inch and a half deep. There is a 
third wheel, like a velocipede, which turns tlie engine, and it 
can turn round and round in its own lengtli, making a perfect 
circle not more than fifteen feet in diameter. Two Avagons, 
attached to the engine, and loaded with thirty people, started 
on a tour I'ound Mr. Landreth's farm, sometimes on th.e road, 
sometimes in fields, turning the sharpest corners with ease. 
We were shown fields of ten and twenty acres, plowed with 
the engine, at a cost of $1 per acre, and ten acres a day. 
After we returned to the house, the gang plow was attached 
to the engine, and we started for an old grass field, covered 
with a strong sod. ' The plow had six mould boards, or, as it 
were, six sepaiate plows in one ; the machine started at once, 
and drew the plows up and down the field, over some steep 



38 

grades, turning a furrow bed six feet wide, fourteen inch 
furrows, seven inches deep, and moved as fast as a man 
coukl walk. It turned on the headlands in thirty seconds, 
and whether going up or down liill it could be controlled, 
regulated, slowed or hastened at will. One of these plows, 
sold to a western railroad, was jjut for a first trial into 
a Minnesota prairie, with an extremely hard, rooty sod, and 
was di-iven, as its lirst test, without stopping, one mile in a 
straight line, curling over unbroki^i furrows thirtj' and forty 
feet long. The furrows, as they follow the i)low, break like 
the foam crests of waves on the shore. 

Thus you see the point I made at the beginning of ni}' story 
is illustrated at the end — ten acres can be plo\\'ed. I liave 
said nothing of the value of the machine for general traction ; 
the same engine can haul a string of wagons to a gravel bank, 
load them, with a steam shovel, take them oiit to be dumped, 
plow, mow, and reap, thrash, drive piles — in short, do all mis 
cellaneous work, and I hope will soon be so imjnoved as to 
do general housework. it. m. c. 



[Stockton (Camkohnia) "Daily Indkpendant."J 



Sp:vekal experiments, all of which have been eminently 
successful, have at diflt'erent times been tried with AVilliamson's 
Steam Koad Wagon, in the vicinity of Stockton ; but the first 
practical test in plowing on a large scale in this county lias 
been made by L. II. Bi-annock, on his farm on the Cherokee 
Lane. Mr. Brannock is using one of the steamers regularly, 
and, Avitli two gangs of four plows each, plows from twenty- 
five to thirty acres of land daily. The breadth of groimd cut 
by these two gangs of x^if>ws is seven feet, and the steamer 
draws tiiein along steadily and rapidly, without any difficulty 
whatever. The expense of plowing in this manner is found to 
be much less than by the ordinary nu^thod of using animals. 
No difficulty whatever is experienced with the steamer on 
unev(^n ground. It travels over sudden and sharp elevations, 
and across abrupt depressions of the land as easih"', apparently, 
and with as little interruption, as are its movements along a 



39 

gravelled street or turnpike. One very great advantage which 
the steamer possesses over teams of horses or oxen is, that in 
clearing land the steamer can readily be detached from the 
plows, and fastened to a newl}^ felled tree, which is bodily 
removed by the machine to any desired part of the field. 
In work of tliis kind tlie wonderful power of the steamer 
is shown even better than in jDlowing. It will haul off a 
large oak tree, trunk and branches together, with as little 
apparent difficulty as it would travel with a brush harrow. 
AVe are told that Mr. Brannock, after having given the 
steamer a more extended and thorough trial than it has 
heretofore had in this section of the State, is well satis- 
fied with its working power, and its adaptability to the 
heavy labor necessary to be done on a well managed 
farm. 

At the California State Fair, held at Sacramento, a prize of 
$50 and diploma were awarded to the Williamson Steam 
Plow. 



[Stockton (California) "Daily Independant."] 
AVILLIAMSON'S IIOAD ^VAG^OlSr 



This locomotive, for use on common roads, and on exliil)i- 
tion, under the charge of Mr. Barnaby, in this city, hauled 
five wagons, loaded with gravel, from Mr. Overhiser' s fann 
yesterday. Mr. Overhiser tells us that the gravel hauled into 
Stockton by the locomotive, or steam wagon, at one trip, 
weighed not less than thirty tons. He believes that it can 
haul sixty tons. An exliibition of its power in plowing will 
be given on the land of Hiram Fisher, on the east side of the 
city, at 2 o'clock next Saturday afternoon. 



\Extract from letter from Messrs. Campbell & Turton, 
Sugar Planters, Lapliania Maui, Haioaiian Islands.'] 

"The Williamson Road Engine, ordered by us through our 
agents, has arrived safely, and been carefully set up. We 
have tried the machine, and find it works beautifully, and 



40 

believe that it will do all that is required of it. We are much 
pleased with it. On good roads it will be invaluable as a sub- 
stitute for cattle, as in this warm climate cattle Avill not stand 
the work. AYe hope you will have more orders from our far- 
off Isles." 

To D. D. Williamson, Esq., New York. 



[Extract from a letter from Clarlc W. Thomjyso?}., Esq., 
President of tlie Minnesota Soutliern Railroad, dated 
Wells, Minnesota, October Wi, 1872, ordering a dnj>li- 
cate jpart to replace a lyiece broken in Ids Williamson 
Steamer. ] 

"Please have us a duplicate made as soon as possible. It 
is getting late in the season, and I liave three thousand acres 
to ploAv yet, and toe are losing tliirty acres every ten hours. 
We will have to run her day and night." 

The breaking plow used by Col. Thom]ison on his thirteen 
thousand acre farm, consists of iive twentj^-inch plows, attached 
to a triangular frame, with arrangements for lifting and regu- 
lating the depth of the plows. Each plow is se^iarate, and can 
be taken out to be sharpened, which is absolutely necessary 
in breaking virgin prairie. At the first trial, the steamer drew 
tliis gang, ])lowing one liundred inches wide, and four inches 
deep, in a straight line, for a distance of one mik; and back, 
accomplishing the two miles in thirty-four minutes, the area 
plowed being a trilie over two acres. 



At the Great Fair in St. Louis, Mo., in 1871, the diploma 
was awarded to the Williamson Koad Steamer and Steam 
Plow, " for til e most important invention relating to agricul- 
ture, patented within three years." 

This dix^loma had not been awai'ded for thn^e years, as 
nothing exhibited had been considered worthy of this sj^ecial 
honor. The plowing done was one hundred inclies wide, and 
four and a half inches deep, and the speed three miles per 
lioiir. The road test was with a train of four wagons, loaded 
with one hundred and forty men, and the speed was nine miles 
per hour. 



41 

At the Savannah, Ga., Fair, tlie large gold medal was 
awarded to tlie Williamson Road Steamer, (owned by the 
Georgia Central Railroad.) The steamer had been employed 
hauling loads, consisting of six logs in trucks, and doing the 
work of twenty-four mules, on deep sandy roads. 



Mr. John Young, of Salt Lake, Utah, writes: ''I 
am perfectly satisfied with my road steamer. I consider the 
load she has been hauling equal to thirty tons on good 
wagons." 

This steamer is now employed hauling silver ores over the 
mountains in Utah. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE 

OF THE 

WILMINGTON (NORTH CAROLINA) FAIR, 1871, 

AWARDING THE GOLD MEDAL TO THE 

WILLIAMSON KOAD STEAMER 



The undersigned committee, to whom was referred the 
above named machine, for a full report upon its merits and de- 
fects, respectfully report : 

A full test of its capacity was made on the grounds of the 
Association, around the race track, and for about three-fourths 
of a mile to and fro over the country road, across one "branch," 
and out of the road into the pine woods, up a declivity of about 
one in five, and back again into the fair grounds. 

The race track is built of a surface of cla}^ about two inches 
thick, upon a bed of sand ; a load attached to the steamer, 
composed of a ten-horse engine, on wheels, and four ordinary 
road wagons, loaded with people, which proved too much, on 
account, as we believe, of the softness of the track, and the 
narrow tires of the wagon wheels. With the engine above 
referred to (weight about six tons), the steamer moved readily 
around the track, and afterwards drew the four wagons, with 
full load of people, easily. 



42 

We understand the proprietors claim that on roads in or- 
dinary good condition, that the steamer will draw in the wag- 
ons, with broad tread wheels adapted to the work, twelve tons 
dead weight. We believe that tliis machine Avill come fully 
up to the claim. 

We further believe that in charge of ecnnpetent meclianlcs, 
these steamers will be useful and economical, as feeders to the 
railroads in this section of tlie State, and as a good sulhstitute 
for railroads, where there is diffii.'ulty in inocuring capital for 
the construction of the latter. 

Without load on the race track, the steamer moved around, 
one-half mile in one minute and fortj^-eiglit seconds, or cibout 
seventeen miles to the hour. 

The boiler works well, fnruisliijig all steam necessary for 
the heaviest work. 

With full loaded train, the speed will be eight miles an 
hour, on level road in good oider. The road is iinproTcd by 
the steamer passing over it. 

In conclusion, Ave think the steamer capable of doing all 
that is claimed for it. 

Water tanks are attached, with capacity to furnish water 
for six miles run ; and bunkers for coal sufficient foi' half day's 
run. Competent engineer and liienian are all the labor re- 
quir(}d for a full train. 

The steamer is well adai)te(l for drawing a gang of live 
twenty inch plows (or seven twelve inch), and we think will 
do well in this respect. 

Airangements are provided I'oj- using the power of the en- 
gines for driving cotton gins, thrashing machines, or other 
farming implements requiring steam or horse power. 

In consideration of the great success of this machine, and 
its eminent adaptability to work required in this section of the 
country, the committee recommend an award of the liighest 
prenuum of the Association — the Gold Medal of the Association. 

Jno. C. Bailey, 
C. S. Sehvoss, 
J. F. Finger, 
t John Bisset, 

Wm. L. DeRosset, 
Arch. Pae, 
John Colville, 

H. J. RiSLEY, 

S. W. Skinner. 



43 



[From thk "Albany Argus," July 18, 1872.] 
STEAM TOWINO- ON CANALS. 



The practica])ility of using steam as a means of towage 
on our canals, seemed to be fully demonstrated yesterday after- 
noon, on the section of the canal between lock No. 1 and the 
arsenal. The motive power used on the occasion was one 
of Williamson's Road Steamers, under the personal super- 
vision of the patentee, Mr, D. J). Williamson, of New 
York. 

In order to give a correct idea of the working of this road 
steamer, it will be necessary brieliy to describe its working 
])arts. The boiler is fixed on the cross piece of a T shaj^ed 
frame, vdiich is mounted on three rough iron wheels, having 
a band of india-rubber around them, four and a half inches 
thick, by twelve inches broad. The front, or steering wheel, 
is three feet in diameter, with a twelve inch face, and the side 
wheel live feet in diameter, with fifteen inch face. The india- 
rubber band, or face, on the wheels, is protected by a series of 
steel shields, one inch and a half apart, fastened together by an 
endless chain, which imbed themselves in the india-rubber 
facing, as the wheel passes over the ground. The ^Dropelling 
power is obtained from an engine, consisting of two cylinders 
ten inches long, and six inches in diameter, which, by 
means of gear work, turn the side wheels either backward or 
forward, at the pleasure of the engineer, who sits in front of 
the boiler, having immediatel}^ in front of him the steering ap- 
paratus on his right, and on his left a series of levers for start- 
ing the engine, or throwing the wheels out of gear. The 
entire weight of the machine is about six tons, and b}^ a simple 
contrivance the power of the engine is trebled, so as to enable 
it to ascend the steej)est grades, and the rubber tires on the 
wheels, in addition to giving them the most perfect adhesion, 
act as veritable road rollers, rolling the tow path smooth, and 
keeping it in good repair. The pressure of steam required to 
enable the engine to draw three barges, is one hundred pounds 
to the square inch, and that pressure can be kept up with a 
consumption of one hundred and fifty pounds of coal per 
hour. 



44 

At a preliminary trial on Tuesday, the steamer towed three 
bai'ges (two loaded and one empty), the first mile in thirteen 
minutes; the second in fifteen minutes, and the third in seven- 
teen minutes ; it was also proved that tlie steepest grade could 
be ascended and descended with the greatest ease ; that the 
engine could turn in its own length, and was under perfect 
control. 

The trial before the canal commissioners, however, took 
place yesterday, when the following commissioners were pres- 
ent : Messrs. Wright, Fay, and Barclay; also, a deputation 
from the board of trade of this city. Superintendent North, 
and others. 

At the appointed time, the engine ascended the incline from 
the Troy road to the tow path, and hitched on to one of three 
bull -head barges, which \vere standing loaded with lumber, 
south of the arsenal, and having moved it into position, 
adopted the same course with the second and third, until they 
were ari'anged as a tow, and properl}^ secured. A rope from 
the engine having been made fast to the foremost boat, the 
engine started, and drew them with the greatest ease, at the 
rate of three and a half miles an hour, to the lock just above 
the city, where she turned round, and having made fast to 
another loaded barge, going north, took that in tow with the 
same result. 

The greatest satisfaction was expi't^ssed by all pi'osent at 
the successful working of the steamer, and it must not be for- 
gotten that it does its work without any change whati'vei- 
being made either in the canal or boats. 

The following is an estimate of the comparative ex2:)ense of 
towing three first class boats from Albany to Buffalo in six 
days, 

By the WilUamsori Road steamer. 

13 tons of coal, at $6 per ton $72 00 

2 engineers (12 days), at $2.50 per day 30 00 

2 firemen (12 days), at $1 .50 per day 18 00 

Oil and grease, at 50 cents per day 3 00 

Repairs, at %\ per day 6 00 

Interest on |5,000, at 7 per cent for 7 months 10 00 

Depreciation on |t5,000, at 10 per cent, for 7 months 14 00 



Towing 3 boats, |153 20 



45 

Towing 1 boat, |51 iq 

To make the comparisou with horse towage and expenses of 

crew, etc., for G days, at $12.03 per day, add $72 18 

Interest on cargo for G days, at 96 cents per day, •. 5 7G 77 94 

Cost of transportation by 1 boat by road steamer in 6 days 129 04 

Cost of transportation by 1 boat by animal power in 10 days. . . . 262 90 

Saving per boat by use of road steamer, 4 days and $133 86 

By tlte Belgian Hiisteiii. 

The company estimate a tug to burn 2 tons of coal per daj', and 
to make the trip in six days, at a running expense of $40 per 
{^:iy $240 00 

Add interest at 7 per cent., and depreciation 10 per cent on cable 
and tugs for 6 days, per tug 121 42 

$361 42 

Cost of running road steamer, $153 29 

Saving of road steamer over cable towage $208 13 

By Fropellor. 

From the official report of the trips of the Dawson, it is evident that no econ- 
omy was shown over animal towage, wlien taking into consideration the dimin- 
ished cargo capacity of the steamboat. 



[Extract from a letter of D. M. Green, C. E., of Troy 
{the engineer wppolnted hy tlie Canal Award Commis- 
sioners to examine all steamboats competing for the 
1100,000 'prlze), written after carefully examining the 
operation of a Williamson Road Steamer, on the Erie 
Canal, and estlmailng the cost of rnnnlng, etc.'] 
"I have no doubt you will be able to tow tJiree loaded 
boats, at a speed of tliree miles per liour, at cme-half tlie pre- 
sent expense of horse towage." 



[From the " Albaky Akgtjs," August 2, 1872. J 
CAISTAL TOWAC^E. 



]Mr. O. F. Potter, of West Troy, has written the following- 
letter to Mr. I). D. Williamson: 

" Deae Sir: I was present and witnessed the several experi- 



46 

ments with your road steamer upon the canal between Albany 
and Troy. After carefully observing the several trials, I am 
fully convinced that the principle of towing from the bank is 
the most practical and effectual mode as yet proposed for 
quickening and cheapening transportation u])on our canals. 
It leaves the navigator at liberty to patronize this mode or re- 
fuse it, just as he pleases. 

"I cannot see any objections to it being applied to towing 
purposes at once, which can be done by gradual application 
at different points on the canal. Its strange appearance and 
noise of steam is nothing more than the circumstance of apply- 
ing steam, which of necessity has had to be overcome on dif- 
ferent occasions, for the last forty years." 



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